Men, indeed, none of them are any good

Boom!

It sounded like another clap of thunder.

Pei Jingzhi's body swayed, almost collapsing. It was Wang Ming, a man with a chivalrous heart, who gave a look, signaling someone to support Pei Jingzhi.

However, Wang Ming himself was not faring much better.

He also swayed, almost thinking he had misheard.

If his investigation was correct, Pei Jingzhi only had three children, the very three people standing right before them.

As a person, although Pei Jingzhi was always busy with the various important matters entrusted to him by Empress Xiao Mingzhao and had neglected the discipline of his children, his love and care for them were not a single bit less than any other father's.

Looking at his actions just now, he was clearly seeking death.

In fact, with just a little more observation, one would know that Pei Jingzhi did this to sacrifice himself alone, preserving the great righteousness in his heart as well as his family.

But...

The three children he was trying with all his might to protect were not his own!

"Isn't this a bit too tragic?"

Wang Ming muttered.

Ren Tianye shared the same thought.

They had seen plenty of monsters and demons, but someone as miserable as Old Pei was truly a rare sight.

However, Ren Tianye maintained a cold expression and even sneered, saying to Madam Liu, "Utter nonsense. To absolve yourself of guilt, you really dare to weave any lie."

"Saying your son isn't Pei Jingzhi's might have some reasoning to it, but claiming your two daughters aren't his either is simply trying to fool us."

"Who doesn't know that you are Pei Jingzhi's wife? If your two daughters aren't his, then whose are they?"

Upon hearing this question, Pei Jingzhi's gaze grew even more anxious.

Truthfully, this was also what he wanted to ask.

Although he had a vague answer in his heart, he still wanted to know.

Unfortunately, provoked by the previous shock, his body was tottering. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak; the few syllables he managed to force out were completely slurred.

Now, he finally had someone to ask on his behalf.

Madam Liu obviously did not want to continue. After all, family scandals should not be aired in public. But Ren Tianye was pressing her hard, and her two daughters were looking at her eagerly. Left with no choice, she gritted her teeth and said, "The two daughters are indeed not Pei Jingzhi's."

"Because Pei Jingzhi was always busy with military and state affairs, never at home day after day, I had no choice but to have children with someone else."

"Confess honestly!"

This time it was Wang Ming who spoke: "The Duke asked how you can prove these two daughters aren't Pei Jingzhi's, yet you speak so vaguely, trying to gloss over it?"

"Hmph!"

"If you can't explain the details today, if you don't make it clear."

"Today, these two daughters must be executed by the Duke alongside Pei Jingzhi!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Deputy Demon-Suppressing Envoy Su Jin, Commander of the Emotion-Severing Bureau Xie Changfeng, and even the many imperial guards who had followed along, as well as Ren Tianye himself, couldn't help but secretly praise Wang Ming in their hearts.

Right, how could this matter... just be glossed over?

It had to be asked clearly!

Everyone held the mindset of watching a spectacle without fearing it blowing up. One by one, they exuded a fierce aura, standing like mountains, surrounding and pressuring Madam Liu.

Madam Liu's body trembled.

The two daughters couldn't remain calm either and spoke up one after another.

"Mother, say it quickly! We have nothing to do with Pei Jingzhi, right? We simply have no relation to him. Look, we don't look like him at all."

"Mother, quickly tell the lords, Pei Jingzhi doesn't deserve to share our bloodline at all. He doesn't deserve to be our father."

...

Forced to this extent, Madam Liu had no other way.

She had to tell the truth, saying, "I... I... I have eighteen stand-ins for my unforgettable first love, and these two daughters were born with them."

Before she could finish, Wang Ming blurted out.

"H-how many?"

"Only eighteen, it's not that many. Why is this general making such a fuss?" The eldest daughter quickly tried to smooth things over, then asked Madam Liu, "Mother, quickly tell these lords, which of the eighteen stand-ins is it?"

"Which of the eighteen stand-ins are we the children of?"

Madam Liu shook her head.

The second daughter grew anxious: "Mother, at a time like this, why are you still hesitating? This concerns my and my sister's lives, please tell us quickly."

"No," Madam Liu said, "Mother truly doesn't know who your father is."

"There were too many people during that time, and they all looked exactly the same. Even they would mistake themselves for each other, so how could I remember?"

"So..."

Madam Liu looked at her two daughters and said, "You were born to me and those eighteen stand-ins, but as to whose children you exactly are, let alone me, even those eighteen stand-ins don't know."

"Just consider yourselves as having eighteen fathers!"

The two daughters breathed a sigh of relief.

It didn't matter who the father was, nor did it matter how many fathers they had.

The important thing was that they weren't Pei Jingzhi's biological daughters; this way, they could survive.

Joy appeared on their faces as they all looked toward Ren Tianye.

"Duke, we sisters have no relation to Pei Jingzhi anymore. Can you release us now?"

"That's right, Duke. You can't go back on your word."

Ren Tianye smiled faintly and said, "My words naturally count. Since you have no relation to Pei Jingzhi, once I send someone to verify this, you can be released."

The two women showed joy on their faces, but Ren Tianye continued, "However, although you are not Pei Jingzhi's daughters, you are Madam Liu's daughters."

"Pei Jingzhi's crime warrants the extermination of his three familial clans."

"You are Madam Liu's daughters, and Madam Liu is Pei Jingzhi's wife. Counted on Madam Liu's side, you are also targets for extermination."

The three children, who had just felt lucky to escape, all changed their expressions.

Madam Liu's expression also changed instantly, and she immediately cried out, "Duke, you cannot kill me! I... I have nothing to do with Pei Jingzhi anymore."

"I never loved Pei Jingzhi in the first place. It was only because he looked like my unforgettable first love who died in battle that I reluctantly became his wife."

"Later, as he grew older and older, covered in the smell of old age, drifting further and further from the image of my first love, I found eighteen stand-ins for him."

"He is no longer in my heart."

"Furthermore..."

Madam Liu took out the divorce paper written by Pei Jingzhi and said, "Right now, Pei Jingzhi and I are already divorced. From now on, Pei Jingzhi is Pei Jingzhi, and I am me; the Pei Manor is the Pei Manor, and the Hedong Liu family is the Hedong Liu family. There is no relationship between us anymore."

The three children also shouted along.

"Yes, yes! Pei Jingzhi and our mother are already divorced. From now on, we only have a mother and no father."

"No, we sisters have eighteen fathers, but none of them is Pei Jingzhi. Pei Jingzhi is no longer fit to be our father, and he has nothing to do with our mother anymore. Since there is no relationship, you cannot kill us."

"Duke, surely you wouldn't slaughter the innocent?"

...

Ren Tianye first glanced at the haggard Pei Jingzhi, then revealed a slight smile, saying, "How could I slaughter the innocent?"

"Since you no longer have any relationship with Pei Jingzhi, then my extermination of Pei Jingzhi's three clans will have nothing to do with you."

"Su Jin!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"The matter between myself and Pei Jingzhi no longer has anything to do with Madam Liu and her people. As the Deputy Envoy of the Demon Suppression Division, do you understand?"

"This subordinate understands."

"Good."

Ren Tianye nodded.

Su Jin was indeed smart. He understood his intentions without needing a lengthy explanation.

With a wave of his hand, Ren Tianye ordered his guards to clear the road, allowing Madam Liu and her entourage to leave freely. However, even though he did not stop them, someone else did.

Pei Jingzhi!

Pei Jingzhi looked haggard, like a man on the brink of death. Yet, his eyes were bloodshot, and his throat seemed stuffed with cotton. Unable to utter a single word, he could only let out angry, hoarse gasps.

He looked like a vengeful ghost!

Madam Liu was startled at first, but her expression quickly softened into a mask of tender affection. "Jingzhi, I know that even though I no longer love you, you still love me."

"For my sake, and for the sake of the children, just endure a little more suffering. When you reach the underworld, please don't blame me, alright?"

"I... I will always save a place for you in my heart."

Pei Jingzhi's face shifted from a sickly pale to a furious, blood-red hue. He gestured wildly in his anger, his flailing limbs looking somewhat comical, yet he still could not force a single word from his lips.

Unable to bear the sight any longer, Wang Ming suddenly reached out and struck him on the back.

It was a brilliant strike.

It perfectly demonstrated Wang Ming's profound strength as a veteran of the border army. Without causing any real harm to Pei Jingzhi, the slap forced him to suddenly cough up a thick wad of phlegm.

Madam Liu could not dodge in time, and a few drops stained her dress.

She instinctively grimaced in disgust.

But before she could make another move, Pei Jingzhi lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat. Like a madman, he screamed hysterically, "You... you hid it from me so well!"

"The three children I poured my heart and soul into raising are not my own flesh and blood?"

Pei Jingzhi was not asking for an answer; he already knew the truth. He was not asking for her stance; that was already abundantly clear. He was not even asking for the reasons, because the reasons no longer mattered.

He questioned Madam Liu like a lunatic, yet it also felt as though he was questioning himself.

He was asking himself what exactly he had done wrong in his life.

Why did he end up with such a miserable fate?

Was it wrong to be loyal to his sovereign and love his country?

Was it wrong to care for his subordinates?

Was it wrong to give his entire heart and soul to a woman?

Was it wrong to exhaust half his life raising his children?

What exactly went wrong?

Where did he make a mistake?

How could his utmost devotion lead him to such a wretched end?

With the help of her three children, Madam Liu broke free from his grip, a flash of indignation appearing on her face.

"Jingzhi, is it really that important whether the children are yours or not?"

"Can you truly not let go of something as trivial as blood relations?"

"Can you stop being so petty!"

Immediately after, Madam Liu's face twisted into a mask of profound grievance. "I suffered so much giving birth to three children, yet all you care about is whether they belong to you."

"You don't cherish me at all!"

"In the end, I am the one who has to bear everything alone."

"Men really are all the same—not a single good one among them!"

...